Locking wall hanger

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a locking wall hanger having a pointed end, which is designed to create the hole in the wall as the hanger is inserted therethrough. Whereas a self-boring tip penetrates the wall and embeds itself in the rear wall surface a mid-parabolic portion of the hanger is adjusted to provide a spring force for locking the hanger to the wall. In order to provide a maximum holding force, the hanger comprises reinforcement means.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of hangers, hooks and the like forhanging and fixing objects on a wall.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

There exist various types of wall hangers or hooks that can be used tohang an object, in particular a picture on a wall.

For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,713 discloses a locking wall hangerhaving a pointed end, which is designed to create the hole in the wallas the hanger is inserted therethrough. The end point penetrating thewall is terminating at an angle of 30° to provide a (self-boring) tipthat, after penetrating of the wall, embeds itself in the rear wallsurface being invisible to the user. A mid-parabolic portion of thehanger is adjusted to substantially increase the tension at a tensionedpoint of the parabola and thus produces a “self-locking” mechanism thatprovides a secure, stable environment preventing unintended rotation.

Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,219,302 discloses various wall hangers, allwhich have in common a pointed end, a curved semi-circular portion whichis very similar to a right-angle bend, a vertical leg connected to thesemi-circular portion by a bend that is more gradual than a right-anglebend, a horizontal portion connected to the vertical portion in aright-angle bend, and an exterior vertical leg-portion connected to thehorizontal portion by a right-angle bend.

In inserting this hanger into a wall, the pointed end is pushedperpendicularly with a reciprocal twisting motion into the wall at thedesired location. The point forms a hole through the wall and when thepoint reaches the interior side of the wall the semi-circular portion iseased through the hole. However, the near right-angle shape ofsemi-circular portion causes enlargement of the hole made through thewall by the point and, in addition, the right-angle between the verticalportion and the horizontal portion further enlarges the hole in thewall.

Furthermore, the semi-circular portion is free to slide up and down orsideways with the interior surface of the wall. It does not dig into theinterior surface of the wall to result in tensioning those parts of thehanger extending between those points where it contacts the innersurface of the wall. While this patent speaks of a snap-in action, theundue enlargement of the hole formed by the point when the semi-circularportion and the right-angle bend between horizontal and verticalportions are forced through the hole contribute very little resistanceto keeping the hanger in a stable position.

When an upward force is applied to the hook portion of the hanger it maybecome unstable.

Any spring bias that is provided by the interior portions of this hangertends to enable the pivoting of the horizontal portion in the wall suchthat a vertical portion and semi-circular portion are urged away fromthe wall surface. This contributes to an unstable characteristic of thishanger such that upward forces accidentally applied to the exteriorportions of the hanger will cause pivoting of the hanger in the hole andover a period of time will result in such ultimate enlargement of thehole as to allow the hanger to fail.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,030 discloses a picture hanger that can be used withpre-existing holes having diameters up to about a quarter inch.

Moreover, U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0218284 A1 discloses amonkey-hook having a (self-boring) tip for penetrating a drywall, aparabolic curve mid section producing a stable (self-locking) mechanismto prevent unintended rotation and an extended (tilt-back) tip at theopposite end of this single-wire design tilting back and away from thebacking of a picture or other object.

The aforementioned hangers only provide a relatively limited holdingforce of up to 50 pounds. Further, since the hanger shall provide aself-boring function in such a way that it can intersect a drywallwithout making use of additional tools either the drywall has to be of afragile and thin consistence or the diameter of the portion of thehanger being suitable for wall penetration has to be sufficiently small.In either configuration being suitable for a manual assembly, i.e.without making use of additional tools, the maximum load limit is fairlysmall.

In a combination with a rather large wire diameter and a fairly thickand/or robust wall, a force being necessary in order to insert thehanger into the wall typically exceeds a maximum force that can beprovided manually without making use of tools.

Another combination with a relatively thick or stable wall and a hangerbeing relatively small in diameter has the disadvantage that even thoughmanual hanger insertion is possible, the hanger itself due to its smalldiameter does not provide a sufficiently large load limit.

Another combination being suitable for manual assembly comprises a thinor a medium sized but fragile or soft wall and a hanger being relativelylarge in diameter. When the hanger in this combination is in its finalassembly position in the wall, due to the softness of the wall, thehanger will carve or engrave into the wall in the direction of gravityhence in the direction opposite to the holding force provided by thehanger.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a self-locking hangerfor mounting in a wall that can be manually inserted into the wall andthat provides an increased holding force and a secure, long lasting andreliable fastening for supporting objects on a wall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a wall hanger of the type used withplaster, gypsum, drywall, paneling, wood and the like walls, wherein thehanger is easy to use and includes means for substantially locking it inplace at its mounting location against rotation relative to the wall,and against pivoting out of or removal from the mounting hole. Thehanger of the present invention comprises a single-pieced spring wireelement, i.e. a first metal wire having a tail portion that is adaptedto penetrate a wall and therefore being provided with a pointed andsharp free end.

This pointed tail portion is intended to bore or to drill a passage intothe wall through which the first metal wire with its tail portion aheadcan be inserted into the wall. The pointed free end of the tail portionallows for a manual assembly or fastening. Typically, the free end ofthe tail portion is pushed in a twisting motion in the directionperpendicular to the wall's surface through an intended fixation point.

Adjacent to the tail portion from a free end of the first metal wirethere is provided a resilient C-shaped intermediate portion, having aradius of curvature that is sufficiently large that a passageway in thewall is not enlarged upon insertion of the intermediate portion into thepassage. Hence, the geometry of the intermediate portion is chosen insuch a way that it does not substantially enlarge the diameter or thesize of the passageway formed by the pointed tip of the wall penetratingtail portion. Further, the C-shaped intermediate portion provides aspring force when the hanger reaches its final assembly position in thewall, thus preventing unintended movement, in particular preventing anunintended pivoting and rotating of the wall hanger.

Adjacent to the intermediate portion there is provided a substantiallystraight shank portion that is adapted to penetrate the wall, when thehanger reaches the final assembly position, i.e. when the hanger islocked in the wall. In the final assembly position, the shank portion issubstantially the portion of the first metal wire that penetratesthrough the wall, whereas the adjacent intermediate portion and tailportion are entirely located behind the wall's rear side. Since theintermediate portion does not substantially enlarge the passageway inthe wall, the shank portion typically has the same diameter as theintermediate portion and remains firmly fitted in the passageway of thewall.

Further, the first metal wire comprises a hook portion that is adjacentto the shank portion. The hook portion has a hook-like geometry and isadapted to receive objects for hanging thereon.

It is intended that the hook portion is not inserted into the wall. Itis rather intended that the hook portion may abut against the wall.

The overall geometry of the first metal wire is adapted to provide alocking upon reaching a final assembly position in the wall. Hence,before reaching the final assembly position, in an intermediate assemblyposition by inserting the first metal wire into the wall from the wall'sfront side, the pointed tail portion, due to the C-shaped geometry ofthe intermediate portion is contacting a rear side of the wall and inresponse to further insertion of the metal wire, the C-shapedintermediate portion, which is adapted to be resiliently deformedapplies a spring force to the tail portion and thus provides a lockingof the entire metal wire in the wall, when the final assembly positionis reached, i.e. when the straight shank portion is nearly entirelyinserted into the passageway formed by pointed tail portion.

The wall hanger according to the present invention provides asubstantial increase of a maximum holding force. Therefore, at least thehook portion of the first metal wire comprises reinforcement means. Byproviding at least the hook portion with reinforcement means, a maximumload limit or a maximum holding force provided by the wall hanger can beincreased in a very efficient and easy way. For instance, a sufficientreinforcement can already be reached in providing a metal wire with alarger diameter in the region of the hook portion, whereas the diameterof those portions intersecting or being intended to be inserted into thewall remains at a constant and lower diameter range.

In this way inserting the hanger into a wall can be performed in an easyand manual way. At the same time those parts of the hanger, i.e. thehook portion which is not intended for insertion into the wall due toits enlarged diameter, inherently provides an enhanced load limit and anincreased holding force.

Further, not only the hook portion but also the adjacent shank portioncan be provided with reinforcement means. For instance, the shankportion may have a geometry with a continuously increasing diametertowards the hook portion. Hence, it may comprise a wedge-like shapeproviding a clamping effect when rigidly pushed into a passage formed bythe pointed tip of the tail portion.

In increasing the diameter of the shank portion that is intended to beinserted into the wall one achieves the additional effect that carvingor engraving of the hanger in a drywall in the direction of anexternally applied shearing force can be sufficiently reduced thuskeeping the shank portion and the hanger in a safe and reliable way atan intended position in the wall.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the reinforcementmeans comprise a doubling of material by means of a second metal wire.Therefore, at least the hook portion and eventually also at least partsof the shank portion of the first metal wire are reinforced andstrengthened by means of a second metal wire. This second metal wiretypically has the same diameter as the first metal wire.

Second and first metal wires advantageously comprise a homogeneousdiameter over their entire elongation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second metalwire and the first metal wire are sections or portions of a commonsingle metal wire that is folded or curved about 180° near the free endof the hook portion. Such a folded, curved or bended configurationprovides a reinforcement approach for the hook and/or the shank portionof the hanger which can be easily manufactured, which is inexpensive andnot very time-consuming in manufacturing. The 180° bending or curvatureinterconnecting the first and the second metal wire is located at thefar end, hence at the free end of the hook portion.

According to a further embodiment, in a projection parallel to the planedefined by the first metal wire, the second metal wire is alignedsubstantially parallel to the first metal wire. The first metal wire andits various portions only feature a two-dimensional geometry. Hence, thecurvature of the C-shaped intermediate portion as well as the curvatureof the hook portion and the straight section of the tail portion andshank portion all lie in a common plane. The second metal wire, whichmay have a similar or identical shape compared to the hook and/or shankportion of the first wire is positioned in a plane parallel to the planedefined by the first metal wire. Consequently, in this embodiment, thesecond wire also features a two-dimensional geometry.

According to another embodiment, in a projection perpendicular to theplane, which is defined by the first metal wire, the second wire issubstantially overlapping with the first metal wire. Imagining that thetwo-dimensional first wire is lying flat on a surface, the second wirehas at least partially an identical geometry compared to the first wireand seen in a perpendicular, hence vertical projection, the first andthe second wire substantially overlap.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the hook portion,especially when formed by first and second metal wires comprises aS-shaped portion that has a first and a second oppositely curvedcurvature section and an intermediate abutment piece. The intermediateabutment piece is adjacent to both curvature sections; hence it lies inbetween them.

The abutment piece is further adapted to get in contact with the frontside of the wall, when the hanger reaches its final assembly position inthe wall. This way, the abutment piece may prop against the wall's frontside and may further define the final assembly position of the hanger inthe wall. The curvature section connecting the abutment piece with thestraight shank portion is bended by approx. 90° with a rather smallradius of curvature compared to the intermediate portion of the firstmetal wire such that it is nearly impossible to push this curvaturesection through the passage in the wall.

According to a further preferred embodiment, adjacent to the S-shapedportion, the hook portion further comprises a substantially straightsnag portion that is inclined with respect to the elongation of theabutment piece at an angle of about 45°. Since the abutment piece in thefinal assembly position is directed substantially parallel to thesurface of the wall, the snag portion is pointing upwards in a 45°configuration. Finally, this substantionally straight snag portionserves as the actual hook, which is adapted to hold and to receiveobjects for hanging thereon.

The inventive doubling of material covers the snag portion as well asthe S-shaped portion. The 180° folding, curving or bending of the commonsingle metal wire defining first and second metal wires is located atthe far-, hence the free end of the snag portion of the hook portion.

According to another embodiment, in the region of the snag portion, thefirst and the second metal wires diverge towards the free end of thehook or the snag portion, respectively. By means of an interjacent elbowpiece, virtually connecting the first and the second metal wire, aclosed loop is formed. In this configuration, at least in the region ofthe snag portion, the first and the second metal wires do not elongatein a parallel but in a diverging manner. The elbow piece then provides asection having a curvature slightly exceeding 180°.

The terms first and second metal wire has not be understood in a literalmanner. They are both sections of a single-pieced metal wire that isfolded, curved or bended in a loop-like way. The so-formed loop can beinterpreted as eye, which in turn is adapted to interact with variousapplicable fastening means, such as hooks, screws, bolts or the likebeing in connection with the objects that are intended to be affixed bymeans of the wall hanger. This loop-like or eye-like configuration ofthe snag- or hook portion therefore provides a large diversity for amultitude of applicable fastening means. In this way, the range ofapplication of the hanger can be advantageously increased. The hangercan be universally applied with various different kinds of fasteningmeans.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the firstand the second metal wire almost completely abut to one another. In sucha configuration, the first and the second metal wire are substantiallyaligned parallel to each other. The radius of curvature at the hook-orsnag portion's free end respectively is reduced to a minimum. Itsubstantially corresponds to the diameter of the wire. However, thisconfiguration provides an increased stability at least of the hookand/or shank portion, due to the material doubling. In this way therigidity and the stiffness of the hook portion and/or the shank portioncan be increased by about 100 percent.

In the same way the maximum load limit of the hook portion and theentire hanger can be enhanced correspondingly. Also, due to the materialdoubling and the accompanying larger lateral expansion of thewall-penetrating or -intersecting shank portion a carving and engravingof the metal wire due to an applied shear force, e.g. when hanging aheavy weight item on the hanger, can be reduced in an advantageous way.

According to a further embodiment, the first and the second metal wireat least partially abut to one another. Preferably, the two wiresections abut to one another in the area of the shank portion. In theremaining non-abutting sections, the first and the second metal wiresmay form a closed loop, an eye or the like.

In a further preferred embodiment, the first and the second metal wireare completely spaced apart from each other. Hence, first and secondmetal wires are in a strict non-abutting configuration. Nevertheless,they may extend or run in parallel to each other in a projectionparallel to the plane defined by the first metal wire. Additionally oralternatively, they may substantially overlap in a projectionperpendicular to the plane defined by the first metal wire.

When the first and the second metal wire are entirely spaced apart fromeach other, the 180° bended or 180° curved elbow piece located at thefree end of the snag- or the hook portion, respectively has a curvaturelarger than the diameter of the wire.

According to a further embodiment, the second metal wire runs orelongates substantially straight from the hook portions or the snagportions free end to the first wire's shank portion. Further, in thisconfiguration, in the region of the shank portion, the second and thefirst wires substantially overlap in a projection perpendicular to theplane defined by the first wire.

Further, according to another embodiment, the first and the second wireat least abut to one another at the S-shaped portion of the hook portionand/or the shank portion.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the second metal wireextends or runs at least to the shank portion of the first wire andfeatures a free end that comprises a pointed tip and that extendssubstantially parallel to the first wires shank portion. The pointed tipor sharpened free end of the second wire points towards the intermediateportion of the first wire. Preferably, the second wire extends with itspointed tip up to the intersection region between the shank portion andthe intermediate portion of the first wire.

In a final assembly position, the shank portion of the first wire aswell as the free end of the second wire is almost completely concealedin the wall. The sharpened or pointed tip of free end of the second wiremakes it easier to push the second wire and hence the reinforcement ofthe hanger into the wall. The force that is to be applied in order topush the second wire's free end into the wall is at maximum comparableto the force necessary to drill or to push the tail portion of the firstwire into the wall.

In this way the invention provides a two-step assembly procedure foraffixing the hanger into a wall. In a first step the tail portion withits pointed tip is drilled or pushed through the wall and in a secondstep, in order to achieve a reinforcement of the hanger; also the freeand pointed end of the second metal wire is affixed to the wall byapplying an adequate pressure.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the freeend tip of the second wire is slanted at an angle of approx. 30° withrespect to the direction of elongation of the second wire and/or withrespect to the direction of elongation of the shank portion of the firstwire. In this way also the second wire, hence its free end can be easilypushed and inserted into the wall. The slanted free end of the secondmetal wire inevitably leads to an asymmetry. Advantageously the longerend of the slanted tip abuts to the first wire, in particular to itsshank portion.

According to a further embodiment, the second wire's free end is adaptedto serve as anti-twist protection upon insertion of the hanger into thewall's front side. Since the free end of the second wire is parallel andlaterally shifted to the shank portion of the first wire upon the secondwire penetrating the wall, the hanger is prevented from pivotingespecially in the last final step of the hanger assembly. Otherwisewithout such an anti-twist protection, the hook portion may twist ortilt just before reaching the final assembly position, in which it islocked due to the spring force provided by the C-shaped intermediateportion.

According to another aspect, the invention provides an adapter piecethat is suitable for hanging on the hanger according to the presentinvention and that comprises at its rear side a cavity that has ageometry that corresponds to the shape of the hanger's hook portion.

Further, the adapter piece itself has a hook like section for hangingobjects thereon.

Moreover, the adapter piece is preferably made of molded plastic,whereas the hanger is provided in tempered steel, brass or comparablemetal material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will bedescribed in detail by making reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a side view of the wall hanger according to a firstembodiment,

FIG. 2 shows the wall hanger according to FIG. 1 as seen in a frontview,

FIG. 3 shows the hanger according to FIGS. 1 and 2 as seen from the top,

FIG. 4 shows a perspective illustration of the hanger according to FIGS.1, 2 and 3,

FIG. 5 shows the hanger according to FIGS. 1 to 4 in its final assemblyposition inside the wall,

FIG. 6 shows a top view illustration of a loop-like embodiment of thehanger,

FIG. 7 depicts the hanger according to FIG. 6 in a front view,

FIG. 8 shows the hanger according to FIGS. 6 and 7 in a perspectiveillustration,

FIG. 9 depicts another embodiment of a loop-like shaped hanger as seenfrom the top,

FIG. 10 shows the hanger according to FIG. 9 as seen from the front,

FIG. 11 depicts the hanger according to FIGS. 9 and 10 in a perspectiveillustration,

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of a hanger in a perspectiveillustration,

FIG. 13 shows the hanger according to FIG. 12 as seen from the top,

FIG. 14 shows the hanger according to FIGS. 12 and 13 as seen from thefront,

FIG. 15 depicts the hanger according to FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 as seen fromthe side,

FIG. 16 depicts another embodiment in a perspective illustration,wherein first and second metal wires are parallel but spaced apart fromeach other,

FIG. 17 shows the hanger according to FIG. 16 as seen from the top,

FIG. 18 shows the hanger according to FIGS. 16 and 17 as seen from thefront,

FIG. 19 shows a cross-sectional illustration of the hanger incombination with an adapter piece,

FIG. 20 illustrates the adapter piece with hanger in a perspectiveillustration and

FIG. 21 shows hanger and adapter piece as seen from the front.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show in various illustrations a first embodiment of thehanger 10 according to the present invention. The hanger 10 comprises ametal wire, made of steel or brass for instance, which is eventuallyeven tempered. The entire hanger 10 comprises a single-pieced metal wirefeaturing a material doubling in the region of a hook portion that isprotruding from the surface of a wall 32 when the hanger is in its finalassembly position as depicted in the cross-sectional illustration ofFIG. 5.

The various portions of the metal wire are denoted as tail portion 20forming a free end of the hanger, which is adapted to be inserted intothe wall 32. The pointed tip 22 of the tail portion 20 is inclined at anangle of approx. 30° with respect to the direction of elongation of thesubstantially straight tail portion 20. Adjacent to the tail portion 20is arranged an intermediate, C-shaped portion 18 featuring an overallcurvature being larger than 90°. Adjacent to the resilient C-shapedintermediate portion 18 there is provided a substantially straight shankportion 16. In the illustration according to FIG. 5, the shank portion16 is nearly entirely located in the passageway 34 that is generatedupon drilling or forcing the pointed end of the tail portion 20 into thewall 32.

Adjacent to the shank portion 16 there is the hook portion protrudingfrom the front side of the wall when the hanger is in its final assemblyposition as depicted in FIG. 5. The hook portion comprises an S-shapedportion featuring two oppositely curved curvature sections 24, 26 and anintermediate abutment piece 14.

Adjacent to the lower curvature section 26 the hook portion further hasan upward pointing snag-portion 12 leading to the far end of to theother free end of the hanger 10.

In order to provide means for reinforcing the entire wall hanger and inparticular the hook and shank portion of the hanger 10, at least thehook portion comprises a doubling of material by means of the wire beingfolded or curved at about 180° near the free end of the hook portion 28.

As can be seen from the FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 in the region of the hanger 10defined by the hook portion and the shank portion, a first and a secondwire piece are aligned parallel and in an abutting way with respect toeach other. These so-called first and second wires are parts of a singlecommon wire that is folded or bent in such a way as can be seen in theFIG. 2, 3 and 4.

Hence, the overall hook portion of the hanger 10 is formed by the tiltedsnag portions of the first and the second wires 12 b, 12 a, a secondcurvature section 26 b, 26 a, an abutment piece, 14 a, 14 b, a firstcurvature section 24 b, 24 a as well as a shank portion 16 b, 16 a.

The free end of the second wire, which is located near the end of theshank portion 16 b of the first wire also comprises a pointed tip 30,which facilitates insertion of the first and the second wire into thewall.

When the hanger is mounted in the wall, in a first step the far end ofthe tail portion 22 has to penetrate the wall at an intended position,thus forming a passageway 34 in the wall 32. Then, in a twisting motion,the entire tail portion 20 as well as the entire intermediate portion 18have to be pushed through the passage 34. Before reaching the finalassembly position, in a final step also the second wire with its pointedfree end 30 has to penetrate the wall directly adjacent to thepassageway 34 formed by the first wire.

A force being necessary to insert the two wires into the wall has to beexerted only at the very beginning, i.e. when the pointed tip of thetail portion 20 intersects the wall and just before reaching the finalassembly position, i.e. when the pointed tip of the second wire 30penetrates the wall. In this way a hanger with an increased load limitand with a substantially increased holding force can be inserted into awall without the necessity of making use of additional tools.

FIG. 6, 7 and 8 show a further embodiment of the invention, wherein thefirst and second metal wires do not entirely abut to one another butwhere the first and the second wires are of a loop-like or eye-likegeometry. Hence, the snag portions of the first wire 42 b and the secondwire 42 a diverge towards the free end of the respective hook portion,where an elbow piece 44 a, 48, 44 b interconnects the two diverging wireportions 42 a and 42 b. The elbow piece itself comprises twosubstantially 90° bended curvature pieces 44 a and 44 b that are itselfinterconnected by means of a connecting piece 48 in between them.

Not only the diverging snag portions 42 a, 42 b but also the adjacentlower curvature sections 46 a and 46 b diverge towards the adjacent snagportions 42 a and 42 b. Apart from this modification, the hangerillustrated in the FIGS. 6 through 8 features the same functionalitycompared to the hanger illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5. Accordingly,the shank portion and the abutment piece as well as the first curvaturesection 24 are substantially identical.

Also, the hanger according to FIGS. 6 through 8 features the samelocking functionality than the hanger according to FIGS. 1 to 5. Thislocking is illustrated by the two positions of the tail portion 20, 20′according to FIG. 5. Whereas the tail position 20 shows the tail portionin its natural unbiased shape, the dashed tail portion 20′ shows thetail position, when the hanger 10 reaches its final assembly position,in which the pointed tail portion exerts a certain pressure against therear side of the wall. As a consequence, the resilient deformation ofthe C-shaped intermediate portion 18 provides a spring force thuslocking the hanger in the wall.

FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 show a further embodiment of a loop-shaped oreye-shaped hanger, where in contrast to the hanger according to FIGS. 6,7 and 8 a connecting piece 58 at the hook portion's free end has ashorter elongation, thus leading to a smaller angle of divergence of therespective upwards pointing snag portions 52 a, 52 b. The secondcurvature sections 56 a, 56 b as well as the curvature 54 a and 54 bsubstantially correspond to respective curvatures 46 a, 46 b and 44 aand 44 b according to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.

The loop-like or eye-like configuration shown in the embodimentsaccording to FIGS. 6 through 11 provides a variety of applications. Forinstance, an object having a hook-shaped connecting piece can interactwith such a wall-mounted hanger for hanging objects thereon.

A further embodiment is shown in FIGS. 12, 13, 14 and 15, where thesecond wire features a geometry that varies from the geometry of thefirst wire in the area of the hook portion. Here, an upward pointingsnag portion 12 b adjacent to the lower curvature section 26 b is bendedat the hook portion's free end 68 in such a way that the backwardpointing second wire 62 runs straight back in a way which issubstantially parallel to the direction of the shank portion 16 b of thefirst wire.

In a projection parallel to the plane defined by the first wire, thefirst wire and the second wire 62 are substantially parallel but spacedapart from each other, as can be seen in FIG. 13. In contrast to theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 11, in a projectionperpendicular to the plane defined by the first wire, the first and thesecond wires do not entirely overlap. Hence, in FIG. 12, the second wire62 has a different geometry than the hook portion defined by the firstwire 24 b, 26 b, 12 b.

FIGS. 16, 17 and 18 further show another embodiment of a hanger, wherethe first and the second wires do not abut to one another but runparallel and spaced apart from each other.

In a projection in the plane defined by the first wire, as can be seenin FIG. 17, a part of the single-pieced metal wire forming the secondwire 16 a, 26 a, 12 a and 72 a is separated from the respective firstwire 16 b, 26 b, 12 b and 72 b in a range that is larger than thediameter of the wires.

When inserted into the wall also this hanger configuration provides akind of eye or loop, which is adapted to interact with hook exhibitingobjects being intended for hanging on such a hanger.

FIGS. 19, 20 and 21 further show an adapter piece which is suitable forhanging on the hanger according to the invention. The adapter piece ispreferably made of molded plastic and has at its lower end also a hookportion that may vary in size compared to the hanger's hook portionprotruding from the front side of the wall. The adapter piece has acavity 82 at its rear side, i.e. that is facing the wall, which has ageometry that corresponds to the shape of the hanger's hook portion.

In this way the adapter piece with its cavity can simply slide into thewall-mounted hanger 10. Preferably, the cavity 82 that has an opening atthe adapter piece's rear side also has a protruding nose 84 that gets incontact with the abutment piece 14 as well as with the upward pointingsnag portion 12 of the hanger 10. In this way, the adapter piece 80 mayengage or latch with the protruding hook portion of the hanger 10.

Further, the adapter piece may also easily be dismantled or exchanged byanother differently shaped adapter piece, which in turn may have avarying geometry and which may provide a different or varying fixingmeans for objects being adapted to be affixed to the adapter piece andhence to the wall.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

10 hanger 12 snag portion 14 abutment piece 16 shank portion 18intermediate portion 20 tail portion 22 pointed tip 24 curvature 26curvature 28 elbow piece 30 pointed tip 32 wall 34 passageway 42 snagportion 44 curvature 46 curvature 48 connecting piece 52 snag portion 54curvature 56 curvature 58 connecting piece 62 second wire 68 elbow piece72 curvature 78 connecting piece 80 adapter 82 cavity 84 protrusion 86hook portion

1. A wall hanger (10) for mounting in a wall for hanging objects thereoncomprising a one-piece first metal wire having: a wall penetrating tailportion (20) with a pointed free end (22) being adapted to penetrate awall, a resilient C-shaped intermediate portion (18) adjacent to thetail portion (20), the intermediate portion having a radius of curvaturesufficiently large that a passageway (34) in the wall (32) is notenlarged upon insertion of the intermediate portion into the passage, asubstantially straight shank portion (16) adjacent to the intermediateportion (18) being adapted to penetrate the wall (32) upon locking ofthe hanger in a final assembly position, a hook portion (12, 14, 26, 28)adjacent to the shank portion (16) having a hook-like geometry and beingadapted to receive objects for hanging thereon, wherein at anintermediate assembly position by insertion of the first metal wire intothe wall from the wall's front side, the pointed tail portion (20)contacting a rear side of the wall (32) and in response to furtherinsertion of the metal wire, the C-shaped intermediate portion (18)being adapted to be resiliently deformed applying a spring force to thetail portion (20) and providing a locking of the first metal wire in thewall (32) when reaching a final assembly position, wherein forincreasing the holding force, at least the hook portion comprisingreinforcement means.
 2. The hanger according to claim 1, wherein thereinforcement means comprising a doubling of material (16 a, 24 a, 14 a,26 a, 12 a; 24 a, 42 a, 44 a; 54 a, 52 a, 56 a, 62) by means of a secondmetal wire.
 3. The hanger according to claim 2, wherein the second metalwire (16 a, 24 a, 14 a, 26 a, 12 a) and the first metal wire (16 b, 24b, 14 b, 26 b, 12 b, 18, 20) are sections of a common single metal wirebeing folded or curved about 180° near the free end (28; 48; 58; 78) ofthe hook portion.
 4. The hanger according to claim 3, wherein in aprojection parallel to the plane defined by the first metal wire, thesecond metal wire (16 a, 24 a, 14 a, 26 a, 12 a; 62) is alignedsubstantially parallel to respective portions of the first metal wire(16 b, 24 b, 14 b, 26 b, 12 b).
 5. The hanger according to claim 3,wherein in a projection perpendicular to the plane defined by the firstmetal wire, the second wire (16 a, 24 a, 14 a, 26 a, 12 a; 44 a, 42 a,46 a; 54 a, 52 a, 56 a) is substantially overlapping with the firstmetal wire (16 b, 24 b, 14 b, 26 b, 12 b; 44 b, 42 b, 46 b; 54 b, 52 b,56 b).
 6. The hanger according to claim 3, wherein the hook portioncomprising an S-shaped portion comprising a first (24 a, 24 b) and asecond (26 a, 26 b) oppositely curved curvature section and anintermediate abutment piece (14 a, 14 b), the abutment piece beingadapted to get in contact with the front side of the wall when reachingthe final assembly position.
 7. The hanger according to claim 6, whereinthe hook portion adjacent to the S-shaped portion (24 a, 24 b, 14 a, 14b, 26 a, 26 b) comprising a straight snag portion (12 a, 12 b) beinginclined to the abutment piece at about 45°.
 8. The hanger according toclaim 7, wherein the first (24 b, 52 b) and the second metal wire (24 a,52 b) at the snag portion diverge towards the free end of the hookportion and form a closed loop by means of an interjacent elbow piece(54 a, 58, 54 b).
 9. The hanger according to claim 2, wherein the secondmetal wire (16 a, 24 a, 14 a, 26 a, 12 a) almost completely abuts to therespective portions (16 b, 24 b, 14 b, 26 b, 12 b) of the first metalwire.
 10. The hanger according to claim 2, wherein the first (16 b, 24b, 14 b, 56 b, 52 b, 54 b; 46 b, 42 b, 44 ba) and the second metal wire(16 a, 24 a, 14 a, 56 a, 52 a, 54 a; 46 a, 42 a, 44 a) at leastpartially abut to one another.
 11. The hanger according to claim 4 or 5,wherein the first (72 b) and the second metal wire (72 a; 62) are spacedapart from each other.
 12. The hanger according to claim 4, wherein thesecond metal wire (62) runs substantially straight from the hookportion's free end (68) to the first wire's shank portion (16 b). 13.The hanger according to claim 5, wherein at the S-shaped portion (24,14, 26) of the hook portion the first and the second wire abut to oneanother.
 14. The hanger according to claim 2, wherein the second wire(16 a, 30) extends to the shank portion of the first wire (16 b), thefree end of the second wire comprising a pointed tip (30) and extendssubstantially parallel to the first wire's shank portion (16 b).
 15. Thehanger according to claim 12, wherein the tip (30) of the second wirebeing slanted at an angle of approximately 30° with respect to thedirection of elongation of the second wire.
 16. The hanger according toany one of the claims 12 or 13, wherein the second wire's free end (30)being adapted to serve as anti-twist protection upon insertion into thewall's front side.
 17. An adapter piece (80) being adapted for hangingon a hanger according to one of the preceding claims comprising at itsrear, wall-facing side, a cavity 82) having a geometry corresponding tothe shape of the hanger's hook portion.
 18. The adapter piece accordingto claim 17, further comprising a hook portion (86).
 19. The adapterpiece according to any one of the claims 17 or 18, further comprising aprotrusion (84) being adapted to engage with the hangers' hook portion.